This is one of those "I don't see the point" product developments...

Asustek to Launch WiMAX-enabled E-Books

Amazon's Kindle downloads books over a free 3G wireless data service powered first by Sprint and now, apparently, by AT&T in new Kindles. The wireless service is included as part of the purchase price and does not require any recurring payments for service. This is possible, I assume, because downloading ebooks takes very little bandwidth and part of the cost of the wireless service is paid in part by the initial payment of hardware and some percentage of each ebook purchased.

So, if ebooks require very little bandwidth to download, does it really matter if an ebook reader has a WiMAX radio and service? I don't think so. And, yet, that along with a 9-inch display appears to be Asustek's selling points.

CENS.com reports that Asustek plans to make its WiMAX capable ebook reader available in the Europe and the U.S. by March 2010. If Apple releases its much rumored tablet device in early 2010 or the Barnes & Noble Nook does as well as Amazon's Kindle, Asustek's product will probably never be seen on these shores.